Suction nozzle with removable wand and illuminating means



May 5, 1953 0. B. SUTTON ETAL SUCTION NOZZLE WITH REMOVABLE WAND AND ILLUMINATING MEANS Filed Jan. 26, 1949 INVENTOR. 821523 Jakon BY E 5" ATTOH NEY.

Patented May 5, 1953 SUCTION NOZZLE WITH REMOVABLE WAND AND ILLUMINATING MEANS Otis B. Sutton and Warren A. Humphrey, Canton, Ohio, assignors to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 26, 1949, Serial No. 72,944

6 Claims.

This invention relates to suction cleaners and more particularly to those of the so-called offthe-floor type in which a suction nozzle or other air tool is connected toan air moving means by means of a flexible hose whereby the air tool may be moved about for cleaning bare floors, carpets on the floor, drapes on the wall, furniture, Venetian blinds, heating radiators, or to perform any other such household task.

The invention is applicable to suction cleaners of the so-called tank type, to upright cleaners having a converter tool and hose, or to suction cleaners of the installed system type wherein the suction creating means may be connected to installed wall ducts leading to the various rooms of a building but is particularly applicable to the first mentioned type.

It is the usual practice in the so-called oil-thefloor cleaning to provide a plurality of nozzles for performing different functions. For example: for cleaning carpeted floors a suction nozzle is usually provided with a brush, comb, or other carpet pile agitating means; for cleaning bare floors a suction nozzle may be provided without .a brush or with a floor polishing attachment; for cleaning furniture such as davenports, etc. a suction nozzle of a different type and having a brush may be provided; for cleaning heating radiators and other out-of-the-way places a so-called crevice tool may be provided: for cleaning Venetian blinds a special slotted tool with or without opposed brushes may be provided and many other such special tools may also be used.

Also, with suction cleaners of the tank type, blowing tools may be provided such as for blowing dust and dirt from inaccessible places, spray attachments for spraying paint or other liquids and perfume and insecticide dispensers are also frequently used.

All of these special tools have to be attached to a flexible hose, which at its other end is attached to the suction or pressure side of a motorfan-filter unit or other air moving means.

Tools which are to be used on the floor require a long wand whereby it will be unnecessary for the operator to stoop while using such tools. Tools which are to be used on drapes, walls, or

' ceilings may require a short or long wand depending upon the type of work being done. Other tools such as furniture brushes or nozzles, blower nozzles, sprayers, etc., may not need anyv wand but merely a hand piece for manipulating the tool.

The present practice is to provide each floor tool with its own wand, special drape and wall tools may be provided with shorter or longer wands as required while furniture brushes and other tools may not have any wand except a short hand grip section.

According to one phase of the present invention an adaptor is provided which is constructed to selectively receive any tool required. A wand is provided which may be made long or short as desired and which may be removed leaving a short hand grip section on the adaptor.

Additionally, some tools require that the wand be swivelly connected to the tool while others require that it be rigid with the hand grip portion of the adaptor.

According to another feature of this invention the adaptor is so made that the adaptor head is normally swiveled to the hand grip portion to which the wand is removably attached and means are provided whereby the adaptor may be locked against movement relative to the hand grip portion.

With tools usable on floors, drapes, furniture or specially designed to clean inaccessible places it is usually desirable that the surface being cleaned be illuminated while for other operations such as perfume and disinfectant dispensing a light is not necessary.

According to another feature of this invention the adaptor is provided with lighting means whereby it is unnecessary to provide each tool with a separate lighting means. Additionally, 'a switch is provided, separate from the main cleaner switch, whereby the light may be used or not as desired depending upon the type of tool being used.

It is to be stressed that all of the foregoing features are embodied into the adaptor of this invention and that all of the features singly or in combination are a part of this invention.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tank type suction cleaner with the adaptor of this invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adaptor of this invention taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3 with one of the many tools which may be applied thereto;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the adaptor of this invention without the wand and the tool attached.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral It) represents generally the adaptor of this invention. This adaptor includes a housing adapted to house a lamp l2 and has laterally extending guideways l3 which interfit with channels M on each of the tools as will be explained in connection" with the floor toobshown.

The :adaptor [0 includes a hand piece IE to which one end of a flexible hose I6 is permanently attached. The housing is swiveled to the hand,

piece I in any suitable manner such as by a swivel connection |8 as shown-mFig."2. detent I9 of any well known constructionisprovided for locking the housing. against rotation relative to the hand piece: lfiwhenusoudesired. The detent IQ is of the well known type which is normally spring-biased to.locking,.position .but which may be retracted and rotated so asto be held in unlocked position.

The light i2 is mounted in a socket carried by .the .hand piece lathe-housing ll being .con- .structed to swivel about the hand piece I5 without .interferingwith the light l2. .The light i2 is electrically connected to conductors 2i! embedded-in .thehose it by conductors 2| .whichare enclosed .in .a .slot in handpiece |5 iandare covered by.a .U -.shaped sheet metal channel. The hand .piece is preferably made of .cast aluminum or .of .moldable insulatingmaterial and the permanent connectionbetween the conductors 2E! and 2i i may 1";

.be a soldered connection. or made in. any well .known .manner.

The -fioor. tool generally indicated by the refrence numeral may be of any Well known construction except as .modifiedfor. detachablecon- .nection.to.theadaptor it. .Thefloor to'oYZli, as .wellas each of the other selectahly.usabietools, .has channels ltformed therein whichcooperate withthe guide flanges l3 of the .adaptor' ll].

'Thefloor tool 25, as well as the other selectably usable tools, has an aperture'ZB which communicates with an arcuateslot 27 in the handepiece if: so that the passage 28 in the tool. is always in communication with the passage '29 inthe hand piece l5 during swiveling .movement of the "hand piece relative to'the toolis'and alsowhen the adaptor and hand'pieceare locked against relative movement.

The housing isprovided with the" latch 30 "which cooperates with a shoulder "on the tool 28 and all-of the other selectably' usable tools for holding them in assembled 'relationshipas the "guides l3 are telescoped into the channels it. ihus, the tool'iifi, orany other-corresponding specialtool which may beapplieol theret 'is swivelly connected to the hand piece-l5 because the'housing i is: swiveled-therto.

-A wand 'generally'indicated by the reference numeral is-adapted to be-detachablysecured to the hand piece I5 by'aSCI8W 36. 'Ihewanol 35 comprises two telescoping sections ill aud ts-and -46 andan exhaust end-4'|*as;is:well.known in the art.

It .isialso iwell known in the art 'that the hose it may be connected to the suction end '46 for suction cleaning or to the exhaust end H for blowing. Therefore, the female part of the'swivelconnection 4| is duplicated in the ex- Theconductorsin which are embedded in the :hose 16 .are electrically connected to a power source:.through .the swivel joint 4| and switch 48 in parallel with the motor of the cleaner which is controlledby'a'separate switch 50. By this arrangement the motor and light l2 can be energized simultaneouslywvhen both are required or the motor=alone.can be .energizedwhen [the flight is .not'needed.

.From the/foregoing 'itlcan .be. seen that this .inventionprovides an adaptori for detachably. re- .ceiving anyoneofa, plurality ofair tools in which amanipulating wand is provided when necessary,..in- .whichl the wandmay be made long or .shortasnecessary,'lin which the Wand maybe entirely removed wheninecessaryg in which the .tooLmay ,he. swivellyconnected to the hand, piece .or.not.as necessary and .in-whicha light is .pro-

videdin the adaptor which maybe used or not .as. desired.

While we, have shown and described but a: sin- ..gle modification .of our invention, .it' .is to Lbe-un- .derstood that this modification .is'. to be Ltaken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I

do not wish to belimited to the particular structure shown :andddescribedfbut to include all equivalent variations thereof except as 'limite'd'by the scope ofthe claims.

We claim:

'1. A device 'of the class describedcomprising, .aflexiblehose, an air conducting hand piece permanently attachedto one end of said hose, an 'air' tool, 7 means for "detachably securing said air tool" to said-hand piece,'said'handJpiece and air took-having communicating "airpassageways, .a'iwand 'for detachably receiving a p ortion 'ofzsaid hoseimmediately.to the rear of -said hand piece,

said wand comprising upper 'and lower sections telescopically secured togethewmeans"fordetachably securing the lower end' of'said' lower section to the rear end of said hand 'piece independently of said hose-so-as 'to'inaintain 'air flow through sai'd-liand-piece when said wand'-is"detachedand means on 't'he-upper'en'd'ofsaid upper section-for sliciably receivingsaid hose.

A device -=according "to claim *1 including means carried by said hand piece-for supporting a light immediately above said'airtool.

3.'*A' device according -''toclaim '1' in which-said sections are-of channel "formation to partially surround saidhosexsaid means-onthe upper'section f orsliclablyreceiving-the hose comprising a cover plate detacha'bly secured to the upper end of'said' upper section so asto I completely-enclose saidhose.

432ma suction cleaner, a 'fiexiblemosepan air conducting 'hand-piece connected at one-enclin airflowrlationship 'to" one end of said-'hosa-an air "conducting adaptor 'head swivelly connected at one-end'm-air 'fl'ow" relationship totheother end ofsaid hand piece, a suction nozzle connected 1n--'air 'fiow relations'hip to the other end of said adaptor head, complemental guide means on said adaptor head and said nozzle in slidable and de tachable engagement with each other, coacting means on said adaptor head and said nozzle for detachably holding said guide means in complemental engagement, a Wand detachably secured to said hand piece independently of said hose so that air flow relationship is maintained between said hand piece. and hose when said wand is detached from said hand piece, means carried by said wand for detachably receiving and supporting a length of said hose extending along the length of said wand to the rear of said hand piece, an electrical device carried by said hand piece, and electric conductors carried by said hose and being electrically connected to said device.

5. In a suction cleaner according to claim 4 in which said device is in the form of a light above said guide means and so positioned relative thereto as to illuminate the area to be cleaned.

6. A device of the class described comprising, a flexible hose, an air conducting hand piece permanently connected at one end in air flow relationship to one end of said hose, an air conducting housing swivelly connected to the other end of said hand piece, the rear end of said housing being connected in air flow relationship to said hand piece, an air tool, complemental guide means on said housing and air tool for slidably attaching said air tool to said housing with the rear end of said air tool being connected in air flow relationship with said housing, coacting latch means on said housing and air tool for detachably securing said guide means in complemental engagement, a light in the front end of said housing, conductors extending through said hand piece and into said housing for conducting electricity to said light, and a wand detachably secured to said hand piece independently of said hose so as to maintain air flow relationship between said hand piece and hose when said wand is detached from said hand piece.

OTIS B. SUTTON.

WARREN A. HUMPHREY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,292,963 Replogle Jan. 28, 1919 1,661,480 Keefer Mar. 6, 1928 1,770,668 Martinet July 15, 1930 2,023,867 Bieth Dec. 10, 1935 2,143,535 Baxter Jan. 10, 1939 2,196,459 Fors'berg Apr. 9, 1940 2,202,989 Kitto June 4, 1940 2,260,325 Leathers Oct. 28, 1941 2,320,367 Leathers June 1, 1943 2,326,439 Clements Aug. 10, 1943 2,348,861 Smellie May 16, 1944 2,497,435 Brannemann Feb. 14, 1950 

